英國將增加援助預算應對歐洲難民危機

George Osborne said yesterday he would use the autumn spending review to tilt Britain’s 12bn-a-year aid budget towards humanitarian causes in the wake of the European refugee crisis.

英國財政大臣喬治攠斯本(George Osborne)昨日表示，在歐洲發生難民危機之際，他將利用秋季支出審查的機會，把英國每年120億英鎊的援助預算向人道援助方向傾斜。

The chancellor said the government would use all future increases in the aid budget to deal with crises such as people fleeing Syria. “This is part of a fundamental rethink,” said a Treasury aide.

這位財相表示，英國政府會把新增的援助預算全部投入應對敘利亞難民之類的危機。一名財政部助理表示：“這是一項根本反思的一部分。”

Britain is committed to spending 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product on aid, meaning the budget could rise sharply by the end of the decade as the economy grows.

英國承諾支出相當於國內生產總值(GDP) 0.7%的資金投入援助。這意味着，隨着英國經濟增長，到本10年結束時，援助預算可能會大幅上升。

Mr Osborne also said more of the aid budget could be diverted to helping local councils with housing costs for incomers, without breaching international guidelines.

奧斯本還表示，可能會分出更多援助預算，在不違反國際指引的前提下，幫助英國的地方政府解決難民的安置成本。

“We will deploy the foreign aid budget to help with the costs of these refugees. People ask about the pressure on public services, we’ll have extra money to help with that.”

“我們將動用對外援助預算，幫助解決這些難民的開支。至於人們問到的公共服務受到的壓力，我們將撥出額外資金幫助應對這一問題。”

The Treasury was unable to give a figure for how much aid money could be handed to local authorities: it would depend on how many refugees are accepted.

英國財政部並未給出可能劃撥地方政府的援助資金的數額：具體數字將取決於接收難民的數量。

David Cameron, prime minister, will set out his position on aid for refugees today amid reports Britain will accept at least 10,000 extra people from camps on the Syria border. He will use a statement in the House of Commons to flesh out plans — announced in Madrid on Friday — to take more people.

英國首相戴維慍蕓倫(David Cameron)今日將闡明他在援助難民問題上的立場，目前有報道稱，英國將從敘利亞邊境的難民營再接收至少1萬人。卡梅倫將通過在英國下議院(House of Commons)發表的一份聲明，補充上週五在馬德里公佈的英國接收更多難民計劃的細節。

A report in the Sunday Times that the UK would take 15,000 Syrians, not far from the 18,000 figure demanded by the EU, was described by Downing Street as “speculative”.

據《星期日泰晤士報》(Sunday Times)報道，英國將接納1.5萬名敘利亞難民——與歐盟(EU)要求的1.8萬人相差不大。但唐寧街表示，該報道只是“猜測”。

The UK will offer to resettle Syrians directly from refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey — but not those who have already reached the EU.

英國將安置直接來自約旦、黎巴嫩和土耳其難民營的敘利亞難民，但不會接受已經抵達歐盟的難民。

Likewise, Britain is not joining an EU quota system being drawn up this week by Jean-Claude Juncker, the president of the European Commission, for countries who are part of the Schengen passport-free zone.

同樣，英國不會參加歐盟的配額體系。該體系是本週由歐盟委員會(European Commission)主席讓-克洛德容克(Jean-Claude Juncker)爲申根(Schengen)國家制定的。

Yet UK ministers are determined to prove they are pulling their weight, amid stinging criticism from other European capitals.

不過，面對歐洲其他國家政府的尖銳批評，英國高層決心向世人證明他們也在盡力。